Special Contestants: All Stars and Firefighters and Lunch Ladies, Oh My!

[MajorWoody]

Any truth to the rumor that Anne Burrels charity is to help out epileptic, blind hairstylists ( like the one that does her coif)?

[RealityCheck]

I just saw the promo for a Chopped All Stars tournament premiering April 28.

 

RELAY 1 (04/28): Art Smith, Brian Malarkey, Eric Greenspan, Madison Cowan
Judges: Amanda Freitag, Maneet Chauhan, Scott Conant

 

RELAY 2 (05/05): Anne Burrell, Dale Talde, Hung Huynh, Mary Sue Milliken
Judges: Alex Guarnaschelli, Chris Santos, Marc Murphy

 

RELAY 3 (05/12): Antonia Lofaso, Cat Cora, Marcel Vigneron, Michael Psilakis
Judges: Aarón Sánchez, Alex Guarnaschelli, Geoffrey Zakarian

 

RELAY 4 (05/19): Fabio Viviani, Jet Tila, Lee Anne Wong, Rocco Dispirito
Judges: Aarón Sánchez, Amanda Freitag, Scott Conant

 

FINALE (05/26) Judges: Alex Guarnaschelli, Geoffrey Zakarian, Scott Conant

 

The details can be found here.

 

I loved watching Hung during his season on Top Chef so I'm looking forward to what he can do in the Chopped kitchen.

[NikSac]

Sounds like a fun lineup! Thanks for the info.

 

Not that he isn't on Food Network pretty much all the time, but I would also enjoy seeing Guy Fieri on Chopped or one of the other competition shows. I know not everybody's a fan of his but I've got a soft spot for him. I've been to one of his restaurants and met him in a non-TV setting.  Well sort of - they were filming a commercial that day, unbeknownst to me until the cameras showed up (I just wanted lunch and happened to have an afternoon off where I could try the new place in town), but at the time I met him he wasn't 'on' yet and we were just chit-chatting. His personality didn't exactly change but kicked up a lot when they started filming the commercial. It was pretty funny to watch both the change and the filming. I think he'd be a lot of fun on Chopped with other fairly well known chefs where he's competing and not necessarily the "star" of the show.

 

One of my guilty pleasures is Cutthroat Kitchen, so I'll be pretty excited to see Antonia Lofaso and Jet Tila on Chopped too. All I really know about them is what they give in the Cutthroat Kitchen intros, so I assume they're well known chefs but I only ever see them judging.

[cooksdelight]

Antonia was a kickass contestant on Top Chef and Top Chef All Stars. She's amazing.

Guy was on one of the Chopped all stars-type competitions a year or so ago, I can't remember where he placed.

[Julia]

Antonia is the only consistently good thing about the new show Shine gave Joe Bastianich to cushion the blow of getting bagged from Master Chef. She is awesome.

Mr. Ferry, on the other hand, is such a cartoon character I can't really imagine that he's capable of better than the lowest common denominator crap he serves.

[NikSac]

Antonia was a kickass contestant on Top Chef and Top Chef All Stars. She's amazing.

Guy was on one of the Chopped all stars-type competitions a year or so ago, I can't remember where he placed.

 

I have to find these episodes!  Somehow I managed to miss all of them I think; either that or my memory really sucks THAT bad, which is possible.  Thanks for letting me know so I can look for them online.

[NikSac]

Ahh I just realized I don't get Bravo anymore, so that explains why I haven't seen Top Chef even though I'd like that show. Still trying to find Guy's Chopped appearance.

Edited April 4, 2015 by NikSac

[cooksdelight]

You can rent some of the seasons of Top Chef from Netflix.

[Julia]

Ahh I just realized I don't get Bravo anymore, so that explains why I haven't seen Top Chef even though I'd like that show. Still trying to find Guy's Chopped appearance.

 

 

You can rent some of the seasons of Top Chef from Netflix.

All seasons of Top Chef and TCM and Duels (although why you'd want to watch that I don't know) are on Hulu now.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Julia

[NikSac]

Thanks for the help!  Looking for these now.

[Bella]

Antonia, whom I love, was on two Top Chef seasons, NikSac - her regular season and one of the all-star seasons.

[Maverick]

 I don't remember Guy being on Chopped.  When was that?  It's always stood out to me he doesn't participate in any of the shows where to FN stars compete (Chopped, NIC, Cutthroat Kitchen, etc).  It comes across like he doesn't want to put himself out there to be judged, which is odd since that's how he got on the network in the first place.  The closest I ever remember seeing him in a competition was an episode of Dinner: Impossible where he and Irvine lead teams of camp kids.

[cooksdelight]

I was wrong, I apologize. I went back and looked and couldn't find Guy on a list of any Chopped shows. I think I may have been remembering Anne Burrell and the hair... sorry!

[Maverick]

 Yes, I'm sorry about Anne Burrell's hair too.

[Julia]

I don't remember Guy being on Chopped.  When was that?  It's always stood out to me he doesn't participate in any of the shows where to FN stars compete (Chopped, NIC, Cutthroat Kitchen, etc).  It comes across like he doesn't want to put himself out there to be judged, which is odd since that's how he got on the network in the first place.

You're assuming that was an actual competition where the outcome was in doubt.

[Maverick]

 Back then, it was viewers choice.  And I don't think FN manipulated the votes (at least at that point), otherwise the following season Rory would have won over Amy.

[NikSac]

I was wrong, I apologize. I went back and looked and couldn't find Guy on a list of any Chopped shows. I think I may have been remembering Anne Burrell and the hair... sorry!

 

haha it's an honest mistake! Thanks for posting though, it was driving me nuts trying to find his Chopped appearance.

[cooksdelight]

Tiny ice cream spheres alert! (Dippin' Dots) being featured on a rerun right now of baseball stadium chefs. Complete with a dead mother.

[Bella]

Lol - the "tiny ice cream spheres" is my favorite Chopped euphemism for an actual product.

[NikSac]

They come up with some good ones, but tiny ice cream spheres has to be in the top 5 of hilarious ones!

[cooksdelight]

The Fabulous Baker Boys.....

First of all, I like those t-shirts. I'd buy one.

Second, I had a problem with them being given ready-made dough in each round. If the challenge is to bake something, make them come up with it themselves. Don't spoon feed them.

I don't remember which country the winner was from, except that he talked about his Momma all the time.

[mlp]

The winner was from Brazil.  He seemed nice but he had very scary eyebrows.

 

I liked the shirts too although I thought having BAKER in huge letters on the back was a bit much. 

[cooksdelight]

Yeah, I wouldn't want BAKER on the back of mine.

[xaxat]

I missed the intro. Was there a reason (outside of the fact that everybody loved saying "Fabulous Baker Boys") that all of the contestants were male? It was kind of depressing to see a bunch of dudes representing one of culinary professions where women are relatively successful.

[cooksdelight]

No, no reason given. Except that I thought Ted was going to pee his pants he was so excited.

[mlp]

 

Was there a reason (outside of the fact that everybody loved saying "Fabulous Baker Boys") that all of the contestants were male?

 

I actually have no idea but my thought was that the PTB had a group of male applicants who were pastry chefs, sort of unusual, and someone came up with Baker Boys and they thought it had a nice ring and went with it.

Edited April 22, 2015 by mlp

[Totale]

I actually have no idea but my thought was that the PTB had a group of male applicants who were pastry chefs, sort of unusal, and someone came up with Baker Boys and they thought it had a nice ring and went with it.

 

My feeling is that that department is probably the same one tasked with coming up with theme shows in general, and they should all be sacked.

[cooksdelight]

If you watch some of the early episodes in reruns, you realize pretty quickly how stupid these themed episodes are. I don't mind the ones for charity (except for Carnie Wilson, who I hope to never see on my TV again).

[NikSac]

If you watch some of the early episodes in reruns, you realize pretty quickly how stupid these themed episodes are. I don't mind the ones for charity (except for Carnie Wilson, who I hope to never see on my TV again).

 

Even though it was for charity, I don't know if I can ever get past the weirdness that was the one episode where one person was competing for money to get food to keep kids from starving, while another (Carnie) was competing for money to help people pay for weight loss surgery.

[cattykit]

 

Second, I had a problem with them being given ready-made dough in each round. If the challenge is to bake something, make them come up with it themselves. Don't spoon feed them.

But give them more than 30 minutes.  I did notice they gave them 30 minutes for the app round this time.

 

While I enjoyed the eye candy as much as did the women judges, I couldn't help but think if male judges had made similar comments about female chefs, we'd be up in arms about the sexism.  Or if women chefs had been called baker girls or something similar.  (I know it's a play on the Michelle Pfeiffer movie, but still.)

 

T-shirts make so much more sense than the usual chef coats.  They're running around like mad people, they need something comfortable.  And nobody looks good in the Chopped chef coats, men or women.

[cooksdelight]

All-Stars starts tonight!

Madison Cowan, Eric Greenspan, Brian Malarkey and Art Smith duke it out in Part 1 of the Chopped All-Stars tournament, tonight at 10|9c!

Vote for your favorite chef here: http://www.foodtv.com/2w2pw.

[Julia]

Much as I love Eric Greenspan, and the other two don't bother me as much as they do some people, I'm going to be really peeved if Madison Cowen doesn't win. 

[cooksdelight]

Bollocks!!! I will miss you Madison! I think he felt too much pressure to win against the more-famous pros, and the fact he'd never lost a Chopped competition. It's just not like him to goof up.

I cringed as I watched Eric Greenspan cutting hard cheese with the blade of the knife going directly toward his hand. I'm not professionally trained by any means, but isn't that a huge no-no?

I think that these pros could lick the spoon and put it back in the pan, drink right out of the bottle, and do any other number of things and the judges would never say a word. "It's a tough one," said Scott. No, it wasn't. That was a slam dunk by Art.

[cstad]

Wow - I can't believe Chef Madison was knocked out. That was strange. I knew that Greenspan was going to lose the second he said, "I'm going to make grilled cheese for dessert." Sorry, grilled cheese does not equal cheese course.

[zxy556575]

I mean ... couldn't Eric have made small grilled cheese bites with a fruit spread or something? He can defend his choice to the death, but nobody eats an entire sandwich for dessert!

[SpottedCoachDog]

But it wasn't a sandwich. It was a cheese course. I have a headache from rolling my eyes at that bullshit.

[mlp]

Well, that was fun.  I sort of thought they'd give the win to Madison Cowan whom I've never liked very much.  He may be a great cook but I think he's smug and smarmy.  Brian Malarky is a good chef too AFAIK but he's too goofy for me.  For some reason, I've always thought of him as short so I was surprised to see when they lined up that he's not at all.

 

I like Eric Greenspan although I didn't think much of the way he acted on his way out.  Not a good sport.  And his sandwich did not make me think of dessert.

 

I love Art Smith.  I always want to pinch his cheeks.  :)  I think he'd be a great friend to go to lunch with and just gossip and giggle.  I was quite surprised that the FN judges gave him the win but he clearly earned it.

[GaT]

I'm so glad Brian Malarkey was eliminated first, do not like him.

[joanne3482]

I can't believe Art won and Madison was chopped 2nd. I was stunned by that.  That being said, I got why Madison was chopped. He made a surprising number of mistakes for him. I'm not usually pro-Art, but my heart may have grown 3 sizes when he mentioned his husband suggesting they have kids and just go out and adopt 4 kids (who apparently were out of foster care and are siblings which is even a bigger deal because sibling groups don't often get adopted together). 

 

Well, that was fun.  I sort of thought they'd give the win to Madison Cowan whom I've never liked very much.  He may be a great cook but I think he's smug and smarmy.

 

I can see the smug/smarmy, but since he seems to be able to legitimately back it up, I'm more okay with it. If he were terrible the smug would irritate me. 

[bubbls]

If Eric wanted to make a grilled cheese I don't see why he didn't make something like a French toast grilled cheese with the cheese and some fruit or marmalade or something. That was such a weird choice and then to say it was a cheese course. Scratching my head on that. 

[Julia]

If Eric wanted to make a grilled cheese I don't see why he didn't make something like a French toast grilled cheese with the cheese and some fruit or marmalade or something. That was such a weird choice and then to say it was a cheese course. Scratching my head on that. 

 

Eric's got a syndicated show where he goes around the country and makes grilled cheese sandwiches. I'm going to guess that promoting his brand was more important to him than trying to win a Food Network show where the outcome has already probably been decided. After all, he was part of the redemption season of NIC that served as Alex Guarnaschelli's induction to the third base club.

[7-Zark-7]

Is Art from the South? I'm unclear on this.

[Julia]

Is Art from the South? I'm unclear on this.

 

He totally is. 

 

Spoiler alert: He knows Oprah.

 

I actually like Art, but he really has paid attention to his PR person to an annoying extent.

[Bastet]

I love a cheese course to end the meal. 

 

I hadn't had much to eat for dinner last night, but had enjoyed a few drinks.  I set the stage in order to say I watched the late airing in bed, after which I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich so bad.  With that said, however, it was a bad idea for dessert.  Smaller pieces and with something sweet incorporated, it could have been a hit.  As it was, dumb.

Edited April 30, 2015 by Bastet

[NikSac]

I love a cheese course to end the meal. 

I hadn't had much to eat for dinner last night, but had enjoyed a few drinks.  I set the stage in order to say I watched the late airing in bed, after which I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich so bad.  With that said, however, it was a bad idea for dessert.  Smaller pieces and with something sweet incorporated, it could have been a hit.  As it was, dumb.

 

Exactly... I think he could have made it work (I was hungry too!), but he just really didn't.

[Bella]

I love a cheese course to end the meal. 

 

I hadn't had much to eat for dinner last night, but had enjoyed a few drinks.  I set the stage in order to say I watched the late airing in bed, after which I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich so bad.  With that said, however, it was a bad idea for dessert.  Smaller pieces and with something sweet incorporated, it could have been a hit.  As it was, dumb.

 

I kept thinking that there had to be some kind of sweet or easily-sweetened thing in the pantry that he could have used instead of regular bread. He could have made some kind of cake-y thing, sweetened up the filling, and made a dessert cheese course that was legitimately sweet but resembled a grilled cheese sandwich. It would have been clever, playful, and a real dessert. I didn't understand why his brain didn't go there, since mine did immediately.

[Julia]

He could have used mascarpone and made a pain perdu napoleon (and even maybe thrown a little candied bacon in for the full head twist). Me, I suspect he was throwing the match because he has more lucrative things to do with his time than come back for the semi-finals.

[Julia]

TFN is showing the promo for the next edition, and I would pay cash money which I worked for to see Ann Burrell threaten Hung to his face. I do not expect that any of my money is going to change hands. Boy howdy, is she six kinds of out of her league in that contest.

 

I'm also enjoying myself picturing the look on Dale's and Hung's face when Alex tries to stinkface them in judging.

 

I love Mary Sue Milliken to death, but I really wish they'd made Marcel the fourth in that one.

[bubbls]

Eric's got a syndicated show where he goes around the country and makes grilled cheese sandwiches. I'm going to guess that promoting his brand was more important to him than trying to win a Food Network show where the outcome has already probably been decided. After all, he was part of the redemption season of NIC that served as Alex Guarnaschelli's induction to the third base club.

 

 

Ah ha, that explains it, because it did indeed seem like he sacrificed his win intentionally.

TFN is showing the promo for the next edition, and I would pay cash money which I worked for to see Ann Burrell threaten Hung to his face. I do not expect that any of my money is going to change hands. Boy howdy, is she six kinds of out of her league in that contest.

 

I'm also enjoying myself picturing the look on Dale's and Hung's face when Alex tries to stinkface them in judging.

 

I love Mary Sue Milliken to death, but I really wish they'd made Marcel the fourth in that one.

 

 

Alex is judging?? Woohoo. I love to hate me some Alex, and I have a heterosexual girl crush on Ann so fun times ahead.

Edited April 30, 2015 by bubbls

[Lamb18]

Interesting - 7 of the 16 contestants are Top Chef alumni. Maybe the next themed All-Stars will be "Who's the Top Chopped Chef?" featuring all Top Chef contestants.

I'd like to see Antonia win this.